Senate Study Bill 3172 - Introduced
SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED GOVERNOR BILL)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to boards, commissions, committees, councils,
2 and other entities of state government, and including
3 effective date and transition provisions.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 DIVISION I
2 ESTABLISHMENT AND REVIEW OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, COMMITTEES,
3 AND COUNCILS
4 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 4A.1 Definitions.
5 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
6 requires:
7 1. “Board” means any board, commission, committee, council,
8 panel, review team, or foundation of this state.
9 2. “Committee” means the state government efficiency review
10 committee established pursuant to this chapter.
11 3. “Nonhealth profession” means a profession regulated by
12 this state other than as provided in Title IV, subtitle 3.
13 4. “Regulated health profession” means a profession
14 regulated pursuant to Title IV, subtitle 3.
15 5. “Unregulated health profession” means a profession
16 pursuant to Title IV, subtitle 3, that is not regulated by any
17 entity of this state.
18 6. “Unregulated nonhealth profession” means a profession
19 that is not regulated by any entity of this state and is not an
20 unregulated health profession.
21 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 4A.2 Committee —— duties.
22 1. The committee shall carry out the functions provided in
23 this chapter.
24 2. Administrative assistance shall be provided by the
25 legislative services agency.
26 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 4A.3 Board reviews.
27 1. The committee shall review the usefulness, performance,
28 and efficacy of each board as provided in subsection 2. The
29 committee shall hold hearings to receive the testimony of the
30 public, the chief executive officer of the board, and any other
31 person deemed necessary by the committee. After completing a
32 review, the committee shall prepare and publish a report of its
33 findings and recommendations as provided in section 4A.4.
34 2. The committee shall establish a schedule for the
35 committee to review each board such that the committee reviews
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1 approximately one-fourth of all boards each calendar year.
2 Each board shall be reviewed once between the calendar years
3 2025 and 2029, and once every four years thereafter. The
4 committee may modify the schedule as necessary to facilitate
5 the efficient administration of the committee.
6 3. A board that is scheduled for review shall submit a
7 report to the committee thirty days prior to the date that it
8 is scheduled for review that includes all of the following
9 information:
10 a. The board’s primary purpose and its goals and objectives.
11 b. The board’s past and anticipated workload, the number of
12 staff required to complete that workload, and the board’s total
13 number of staff.
14 c. The board’s past and anticipated budgets and its sources
15 of funding.
16 d. The number of members that compose the governing board or
17 other governing entity of the board and member compensation,
18 if any.
19 4. A board subject to review shall bear the burden of
20 demonstrating to the committee a public need for its continued
21 existence. In determining whether a board has met that
22 burden, the committee shall consider all of the following, as
23 applicable:
24 a. Whether continuation of the board is necessary to protect
25 the health or safety of the public, and if so, whether the
26 board’s authority is narrowly tailored to protect against
27 present, recognizable, and significant harms to the health or
28 safety of the public.
29 b. Whether the public could be protected or served in an
30 alternate or less restrictive manner.
31 c. Whether the board serves a specific private interest.
32 d. Whether rules adopted by the board are consistent with
33 the legislative mandate of the board as expressed in the
34 statutes that created and empowered the board.
35 e. The extent to which the board’s jurisdiction and programs
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1 overlap or duplicate those of other boards, the extent to which
2 the board coordinates with those other boards, and the extent
3 to which the board’s programs could be consolidated with the
4 programs of other state departments or boards.
5 f. The number of other states that regulate the occupation,
6 whether a license is required to engage in the occupation in
7 other states, whether the initial licensing and license renewal
8 requirements for the occupation are substantially equivalent
9 in every state, and the amount of regulation exercised by the
10 board compared to the regulation, if any, in other states.
11 g. Whether the board recognizes national uniform licensure
12 requirements for the occupation.
13 h. Whether private contractors could be used, in an
14 effective and efficient manner, either to assist the board in
15 the performance of its duties or to perform the board’s duties
16 in place of the board.
17 i. Whether the operation of the board has inhibited economic
18 growth, reduced efficiency, or increased government costs.
19 j. An assessment of the authority of the board regarding
20 fees, inspections, enforcement, and penalties.
21 k. The extent to which the board has permitted qualified
22 applicants to serve the public.
23 l. The extent to which the board has allowed individuals to
24 practice elements of the occupation without a license.
25 m. The cost-effectiveness of the board in terms of the
26 number of employees, services rendered, and administrative
27 costs incurred, both past and present.
28 n. Whether the board’s operation has been impeded or
29 enhanced by existing statutes and procedures and by budgetary,
30 resource, and personnel practices.
31 o. Whether the board has recommended statutory changes to
32 the general assembly that would benefit the public rather than
33 the individuals regulated by the board, if any, and whether the
34 board’s recommendations and other policies have been adopted
35 and implemented.
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1 p. Whether the board has required any individuals subject to
2 the board’s regulations to report to the board the impact of
3 board rules and decisions on the public as they affect service
4 costs and service delivery.
5 q. Whether individuals regulated by the board, if any, have
6 been required to assess problems in their business operations
7 that affect the public.
8 r. Whether the board has encouraged public participation in
9 its rulemaking and decision making.
10 s. The efficiency with which formal public complaints filed
11 with the board have been processed to completion.
12 t. Whether the purpose for which the board was created has
13 been fulfilled, has changed, or no longer exists.
14 u. Whether federal law requires that the board exist in some
15 form.
16 v. An assessment of the administrative hearing process of
17 the board if the board has an administrative hearing process,
18 and whether the hearing process is consistent with due process
19 rights.
20 w. Whether the requirement for an occupational license
21 is consistent with the principles expressed in section 4A.4,
22 subsection 2, serves the public health or safety, and provides
23 the least restrictive form of regulation that adequately
24 protects the public health or safety.
25 x. The extent to which licensing ensures that practitioners
26 have occupational skill sets or competencies that are
27 substantially related to protecting consumers from present,
28 significant, and substantiated harms that threaten the public
29 health or safety, and the impact that those criteria have on
30 applicants for a license, particularly those with moderate or
31 low incomes, seeking to enter the occupation or profession.
32 y. The extent to which the requirement for the occupational
33 license stimulates or restricts competition, affects consumer
34 choice, and affects the cost of services.
35 z. An assessment of whether changes are needed in the
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1 enabling laws of the board in order for the board to comply
2 with the criteria listed in this subsection.
3 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 4A.4 Reports.
4 1. After completing a review of a board pursuant to section
5 4A.3, the committee shall prepare and submit a report of its
6 findings and recommendations by December 21 of each year.
7 A report may include findings and recommendations for more
8 than one board. Copies of the report shall be submitted
9 to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house
10 of representatives, the governor, and each affected board,
11 and shall be made publicly available on the internet site
12 of the general assembly. The committee shall present its
13 recommendations to the general assembly in the form of a bill.
14 2. Recommendations of the committee shall indicate how or
15 whether implementation of the recommendations would do each of
16 the following:
17 a. Improve efficiency in the management of state government.
18 b. Improve services rendered to citizens of the state.
19 c. Simplify and improve preparation of the state budget.
20 d. Conserve the natural resources of the state.
21 e. Promote the orderly growth of the state and its
22 government.
23 f. Promote occupational regulations to increase economic
24 opportunities, encourage competition, and encourage innovation.
25 g. Provide for the least restrictive regulations by
26 repealing current regulations and replacing them with less
27 restrictive regulations.
28 h. Improve the effectiveness of the services performed by
29 the boards of the state.
30 i. Avoid duplication of effort by state agencies or boards.
31 j. Improve the organization and coordination of the state
32 government.
33 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 4A.5 Boards and governmental entities
34 —— dissolution.
35 1. Except as provided in subsection 2, an Act of the general
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1 assembly establishing a board after the effective date of this
2 division of this Act shall include a dissolution date for the
3 board not more than four years after the establishment of the
4 board.
5 2. An Act of the general assembly establishing a board for
6 the exclusive purpose of providing advice or recommendations
7 after the effective date of this division of this Act shall
8 include a dissolution date of the board not more than two years
9 after the establishment of the board.
10 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 4A.6 State government efficiency
11 review committee established.
12 1. A state government efficiency review committee is
13 established which shall meet as necessary to efficiently
14 review all boards according to the schedule established by the
15 committee pursuant to section 4A.3.
16 2. a. The committee shall consist of one member of the
17 senate appointed by the majority leader of the senate, one
18 member of the senate appointed by the minority leader of the
19 senate, one member of the house of representatives appointed
20 by the speaker of the house of representatives, one member of
21 the house of representatives appointed by the minority leader
22 of the house of representatives, an employee of the office of
23 the governor appointed by the governor, the director of the
24 department of management or the director’s designee, and three
25 members appointed by the governor, at least one of whom serves
26 on a board at the time of appointment.
27 b. Members shall be appointed prior to January 31 of the
28 first regular session of each general assembly and shall serve
29 for terms ending upon the convening of the following general
30 assembly or when their successors are appointed, whichever is
31 later. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the
32 original appointment and shall be for the remainder of the
33 unexpired term of the vacancy.
34 c. The committee shall elect a chairperson and vice
35 chairperson.
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1 3. The legislative members of the committee shall be
2 reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
3 performance of their duties and shall be paid a per diem as
4 specified in section 2.10 for each day in which they engaged
5 in the performance of their duties. However, per diem
6 compensation and expenses shall not be paid to members of the
7 general assembly when the general assembly is actually in
8 session at the seat of government. Expenses and per diem shall
9 be paid from moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2.12.
10 4. Administrative assistance shall be provided by the
11 legislative services agency.
12 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 4A.7 Regulation of unregulated health
13 professions.
14 1. An unregulated health profession shall not be subject
15 to regulation by any entity of this state for the purpose of
16 prohibiting competition but may be subject to such regulation
17 only for the exclusive purpose of protecting the public health
18 or safety. All proposed legislation to create a board or
19 commission to regulate an unregulated health profession shall
20 be reviewed by the general assembly to determine that all of
21 the following conditions are met:
22 a. There is credible evidence that the unregulated practice
23 of the unregulated health profession will clearly harm or
24 endanger the public health or safety and the potential for harm
25 is easily recognizable and not remote.
26 b. The public needs and can reasonably be expected
27 to benefit from an assurance of initial and continuing
28 professional ability.
29 c. The public cannot be effectively protected by other means
30 in a more cost-efficient manner.
31 2. Prior to considering proposed legislation to create
32 a board or commission to regulate an unregulated health
33 profession for passage to the floor of the senate or the
34 house of representatives, a legislative standing committee to
35 which proposed legislation to create a board or commission to
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1 regulate an unregulated health profession has been referred
2 shall consider whether the conditions in subsection 1 have been
3 met. If the committee finds that the conditions in subsection
4 1 have been met, the committee shall consider whether the
5 legislation is the least restrictive method of regulation
6 to address the specific harm or danger identified in this
7 subsection.
8 3. The legislative standing committee shall submit its
9 findings regarding whether the proposed legislation meets
10 the conditions in subsections 1 and 2 to the president of
11 the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives,
12 as applicable, who shall make the findings available to each
13 member of the general assembly on the internet site of the
14 general assembly.
15 4. This section does not allow a person to practice an
16 unregulated health profession if the profession includes
17 practices within the scope of practice of an existing regulated
18 health profession.
19 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 4A.8 Proposed regulation of
20 unregulated health professions —— written reports.
21 1. A member of the general assembly introducing proposed
22 legislation to create a board or commission to regulate an
23 unregulated health profession shall submit with the legislation
24 a report, prepared by the legislative services agency,
25 addressing the requirements contained in subsection 2. The
26 report shall be submitted to the president of the senate or the
27 speaker of the house of representatives, as applicable, prior
28 to full consideration of the legislation by the senate or the
29 house of representatives and made available on the internet
30 site of the general assembly.
31 2. The report must address all of the following and identify
32 the source of all information contained in the report:
33 a. Why regulation is necessary, including all of the
34 following:
35 (1) The nature of the proven harm to the public if the